National Dialogue, Why Now?

JEDDAH, 8 August 2003 — The obstacles women face if they want to participate more fully in society come from two sources: Their own ignorance and outdated cultural practices that conservative forces in the Kingdom confuse with religion. This was the conclusion of a seminar consisting of seven prominent Saudi women organized by Al-Madinah newspaper here recently. In the second part of a two-part series, Arab News reprints highlights of the discussion and the recommendations of the seminar.

“Why are such discussions taking place now? Didn’t we have the courage to deal with these issues before, or is it something that has been imposed on us from the outside?” the seminar asked. Professor Al-Batoul Al-Hashemia’s opinion was that women in the Kingdom have reached a point where they need to reveal their thoughts and ideas and to harmonize them with the outside world after being isolated for so long. Samar Fatany added that women learn to stay silent from a young age but now, with the nation’s security at risk and lives and society in danger after recent events, a point has been reached where enough is enough: “It is time to talk and resolve our problems so that security can return to the Kingdom.”

Dalal Azziz Diya agreed that the urge to address the situation of women was not so much imposed from the outside as a result of recent developments here. “Not since the disturbances in Makkah nearly a quarter of a century ago has the Kingdom witnessed terrorism on this scale, and I believe it is that which is at the heart of the need for self-examination. For years we have been saying that our society is perfect. Not all of us have really been thinking that, but anyone who believed differently was attacked by the media and incurred the enmity of certain parties: They showed their claws when dealing with people and even with the leadership. Since no one was prepared to risk being attacked in the newspapers, we kept our opinions to ourselves.”

So where to start changing things? Umaymah Zahid stressed the responsibility of the family, saying mothers play an important role in shaping future generations and society as a whole. “Yet we find that mothers differentiate between boys and girls: girls are forbidden to do what boys may do with impunity,” she said, and concluded that women’s education was a vital component. The responsibility of teachers, especially religious teachers, cannot be overestimated, according to Dalal Azziz Diya. They must deliver the message of Islam correctly and help in the shaping of upright individuals, she said.

The importance of religion was also dear to Dr. Ghada Al-Houti: “We are going through a crisis, and we are all in agreement about that,” she said. “But it is important to realize that it has not shaken our values: We all hold firm to the belief that the roots are pure and it is only the interpretation that is wrong. That is because the interpretation is erroneously derived from our customs and traditions.”

“The principle of ‘sad althara’a’ — which says that all loopholes that could conceivably lead to evil need to be closed — limits us to a certain number of verses from the Qur’an and Hadith, and my question is: Have these produced an ideal society? The amount of delinquency that we have all come across, and particularly in my work at the academy, would indicate that the answer is no, so guidance of another sort is need, Al-Batoul said.

While the principle, a kind of thin-end-of-the-wedge argument, was jurisprudentially logical and beneficial to society, she said it was arguable that it should be applied to women only and not men. Dr Asma Bahermiz agreed that the principle was underpinned by vast scholarship and there was nothing fundamentally wrong with it. The fault, in her view, rather lies with its blanket application. In other words, when one person does something wrong, whatever led to the wrongdoing becomes forbidden to all, and no attempt is made to look into the reasons behind a specific problem.

Professor Al-Batoul stressed the need to redraft the jurisprudence curriculum and to widen the scope for all cultural trends and juridical schools rather than just one. “The answer isn’t simply to draft laws but to consider the manner in which we deliver these ideas and to make every effort to raise cultural awareness within society and on all levels, concentrating again on the family through guidance and awareness campaigns in order to build a society that is capable of keeping up with the age,” she added. But she cautioned that a more civil society would not necessarily lead to more democracy.

Dr. Asma said the greatest problem for the young generation was the vast gulf between what they are taught at school and what actually goes on in society. Others agreed that problems were best addressed if society looked them straight in the face rather than sweeping them under the carpet. Based on their extensive discussions, the seminar then produced six recommendations.

• Review the laws related to women and all laws passed based on the principle of “sad althara’a”.

• Review customs and traditions and their relationship with religion, and formulate guidance programs for families that deliver correct knowledge of Islam and its application on the basis of this understanding, rather than merely perpetuate a system based on customs and traditions.

• Pave the way for all cultural trends and schools of jurisprudence to express their opinions. Initiate an agenda for dialogue with the leadership and those in positions of responsibility to consolidate popular participation.

• Boost the role of research in the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Information and Culture.

• Use research and studies undertaken at Masters and Doctoral levels to understand the real problems society faces and the ideas and programs proposed to solve them.

• The Ministry of Education must adopt an agenda of dialogue in general. More specifically, dialogue must become part of the school curriculum, of extracurricular activities as well as within student communities at schools, colleges and universities — for both girls and boys — to foster better understanding of different schools of thought.